THERE are plenty of reasons to underpin German confidence as they prepare to renew acquaintances with a familiar foe.

They have gone further than England, for example, in every World Cup since 1966.

If the English are vulnerable in penalty shoot-outs, the Germans last missed from the spot in such a lottery some 28 years ago when Uli Stielike fluffed his lines.

And there is the sobering reality that no English goalkeeper has got so much as his fingertips to a penalty in a do-or-die situation since David Seaman stopped Miguel Angel Nadal’s effort against Spain in 1996.

They are facts to send a chill of apprehension down most supporters’ spines, but reasons for this England team to be fearful? David James thinks not.

“There is a lot of history involved and off-the-field stuff,” he said. “But group of players, has been involved in. We’re talking about our achievement.”

When England travel to Bloemfontein today for tomorrow’s last 16 showdown with Germany, they will be loaded down with skip loads of strips, tracksuits, boots and medical supplies. For once, however, the players will not be carrying any of the excess baggage that weighed heavily on previous generations.

Steven Gerrard can look back a decade to his first experience of tournament football when he appeared as a substitute in a 1-0 win over bitter rivals and famously left then Liverpool team-mate Dietmar Hamann “squealing like a girl” following one bone-shuddering challenge.

Or the 5-1 mauling in Munich that proved the high-point of Sven-Goran perform with after Wednesday’s victory over Slovenia which eased the tension and calmed fraying nerves. A string of previous England managers have consistently fallen into the trap of adapting their plans to accommodate their opponents’ style.

Capello’s pedigree, however, suggests that he will know he must play to his side’s strengths and not stifle them by adopting a cautious approach in the Free State Stadium. Capello should not become preoccupied with the threat posed by it’s not a case of ‘what about this time, what about that time’ and bringing up the romantic side of things.

“The one comment that has been made is, ‘What about Berlin? We beat them 2-1.’ So there was an achievement that this group of players, or a large nucleus of this players likely to feature in an eagerly awaited renewal of hostilities only Frank Lampard and Joe Cole have not tasted success at international level against German opposition.

It is a point that should embellish the sense of freedom England must seek to Eriksson’s tenure. Germany may have won at Wembley in August 2007, but, as James mentioned, England atoned in Berlin in November 2008 in Fabio Capello’s only meeting with Joachim Low to date. Indeed, of those England Mesut Ozil, Germany’s outstanding youngster, but focus instead on ensuring the likes of Gerrard, Lampard and, in particular, Wayne Rooney make their presence felt.

“There has been a noticeable change of mood since we qualified,” said Joe Cole, who will again start on the bench.

“Wazza [Wayne Rooney] was brilliant in training. He had a shooting session and Jamo [David James] ended up saying, ‘We’ve got to stop here, we’ve got a game on Sunday’.” Of the 32 teams that started the competition, 21 have scored more goals than England, who have managed to find the net just twice.

Capello will hope the conversion rate increases enormously and was last night mulling over sticking with the same team that enabled the nation’s campaign to get up and running. The return to fitness of Ledley King and Jamie Carragher’s availability after suspension places a question mark over whether Matthew Upson, whose last-ditch tackle on Slovenia’s Tim Matavz was so crucial to their progression from Group C on Wednesday, keeps his place.

Although there is logic in suggesting Emile Heskey could come back in, Jermain Defoe’s pace and eye for a goal could again prove vital. Where Germany once boasted the experience and efficiency, Capello will now consider those qualities as English traits.

And so an opportunity to make a name for themselves at this level stretches out before his players rather than any sense of avoiding grim history.